Drakor: Zack's Beginning
by Bane Draconus
Summary: Zack Ketchum's story as he journey's across the new land of Drakor in search of answers to his family's past. My first fan fic, please go easy on me. Chapter two is up, Zack vs Blake!
1. Prologue

Greetings and welcome to my first fan fic. This is the usual starting statement that I don't own Pokemon, only my characters and my created Pokemon within. No taking of any of them except by my expressed permission.

I accept, and want, feedback of both varieties, as long as it isn't rude.

Thank you and enjoy (hopefully!)

Drakor Region: Prologue

_I'll let it show that  
I'm not always flying  
Come all the way down   
And watch me burn  
I won't let is show that  
I'm not always hiding  
So on the way down  
I'll watch you burn_

Three Days Grace

Three Days Grace

A cold wind whips through a hole in a broken wall. Bodies of countless Pokemon and trainers lay upon the ground of what looks to have been an arena. The trainers on the ground are all dressed in black and the ones that are face-up can be seen having a red "R" on their shirt fronts. Some Pokemon are able to move, all making their way away from the place of destruction.

In the center of the stadium, a young man can be seen standing in the moonlight, looking down on the body of an older man whose lower half is trapped under a steel girder. The body on the ground stirs, coughing up blood from unknown internal damages.

The man on the ground…is Giovanni.

The notorious leader of Team Rocket had been beaten at last, but the heavy number of casualties showed he went down fighting. His Nidoking and Nidoqueen lay collapsed nearby a pile of rubble, a Sceptile and Glalie breathing heavily on the ground across from the Nido pair.

A Donphan landed a powerful Rollout attack upon Giovanni's Rhyhorn, sending the Rhyhorn crashing through another half-wall, and the Rhyhorn didn't get back up. The Donphan gave a feeble trumpet as it stopped rolling and collapsed to the ground, too tired to continue moving.

Giovanni's Kangaskhan can be seen hunched over, protecting her child from the approaching Heracross. The Heracross stops in front of the beaten Kangaskhan and helps her to her feet. Heracross then points to an exit, to which the Kangaskhan departs the arena as quickly as her beaten body would allow.

Giovanni's last remaining Pokemon, Rhydon, is pinned to the ground by a powerful Charizard. The Rhydon thrashes upon the ground, trying to dislodge the Charizard, but Rhydon is too tired from the many battles to do anything substantial. One Fire Blast later and Rhydon is knocked out.

Having heard the sound of a fire burning, Giovanni tried to see where the fire was, but the attempted motion caused him to cough up more blood. Giovanni slowly moves his head to look at the young man in front of him. Giovanni studied the man for a moment, and then a smirk overcame his features.

"So, Ash, you've finally defeated your old man." Giovanni said, amidst occasional coughs of blood. The young man's eyes softened for a moment, then resumed their formal visage of anger. "Your mother never did tell you, did she?" Another cough of blood followed the statement, yet Ash didn't move. "I don't blame her; she didn't want me to do this in the first place." More silence from Ash.

A Pikachu slowly appeared from behind a pile of bricks, the paw and tail of a Persian lying limp behind him. The Pikachu walked over to Ash and stood next to him, leaning slightly against Ash's leg.

A smirk came across Giovanni's face as he looked at Pikachu. "It is, after all, only fitting that the Pokemon that I sent for you to have be the one to end it, wouldn't you agree?" Giovanni questioned his silent son, and then went into another fit of coughing.

Ash looked down his dying father, pity entering his heart. "Yes, it is," was all Ash had to say, and then he turned and nodded to Pikachu. "Only if you have enough power, my long-time friend."

Pikachu slowly nodded, then stepped towards Giovanni, sparks emitting from his cheeks, and his tail rigid behind him.

Giovanni almost smiled as he saw the electricity from Pikachu rush towards him.

"Thank you, my son."


	2. Begin Conquest

Yeah, I know, I don't own Pokemon, but let's face it, if I did, I wouldn't be typing this. All created Pokemon and characters are mine and can not be copied or used without my permission.

Enjoy.

**Drakor Region:**

Chapter 1:

Begin Conquest

_I am a little bit of loneliness a little bit of disregard  
Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact that everyone can see  
these scars  
I am what I want you to want what I want you to feel  
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you, to just believe  
this is real  
So I let go, watching you, turn your back like you always do  
Face away and pretend that I'm not  
But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I got_

"_Faint" by Linkin Park_

_Meteora_

It was a cold start for a morning this far into April, but that wasn't going to stop the avid new trainers heading to Professor Aspen's laboratory. Just on the outskirts of Star Town, the lab was the place to go if you were a starting trainer needing a Pokemon. The wind was causing the tower in the Prof.'s backfield to sway slightly, as well as causing a few sleeping Blujay and Carustle to be blown into the sky.

Just outside the lab were two girls, both looking to be in their mid-teens, and both were shivering against the cold. And it's no wonder why they were cold.

The girl on the right was wearing a light blue tank top and a matching blue miniskirt. Her shining blonde hair was left loose to the wind, though it normally hung around her face and neck to the shoulder. The navy blue shoulder bag she had didn't look like it would have enough room for one's traveling needs, but it was bulging at the seams. Her pale blue eyes looked towards her twin sister beside her.

Her sister was wearing a red strapless top with arm warmers and crimson denim shorts. She too had a shoulder bag, hers' being red, that also looked like it was going to break at any moment. Her dark brown hair was tied at the base of her neck so only the ponytail was left blowing in the wind.

After a moment of waiting, the door to the lab was opened, allowing the two girls to rush in side, knocking down Professor Aspen in the process. The Prof. shook his head as he stood back up and dusted off his lab coat.

Professor Aspen looked to be in his late twenties, quite young to be running his own lab. He kept his brown hair in neat locks while his dark blue eyes seemed to always have a twinkle in them. His specialty is Pokemon Rarity, the determination of how rare a Pokemon is in an area.

Prof. Aspen faced the two girls, who had both taken seats near a table display with three pokeballs on it. Brittany, the girl in blue, was on the right side, as usual, while Courtney in red was on the left. Shaking his head, he remembered seeing them as they grew up.

Being twins, they shared everything together: clothes, toys, make-up…the only thing they couldn't share was…

Bang bang bang! A frantic banging at the door brought Prof. Aspen out of his recollection. Brittany and Courtney instantly tried to make themselves look their best for some reason. Opening the door, Prof Aspen found a young man about the age of 16 panting on his doorstep.

The boy had dirty blond hair in what looked like a comb-over, wore a white long sleeved shirt with red and blue bands around the elbows, and a pair of worn blue jeans with white running shoes barely seen underneath the folds. Wire thin glasses perched on the end of his nose, completely his image of "nerd" (sorry to people who find this offensive, but that's what he is).

"Professor! Am I too late?!?" Blake gasped out in a panicked voice. He was obviously trying to beat someone, but who was the question.

"No, no, you're fine Blake, although Brittany and Courtney are both here and they get to pick before you," Prof. Aspen replied, indicating to the twins who had looks of disappointment on their faces.

Blake perked up at the site of Brittany and Courtney. _Excellent, I've got both girls to myself for once._ Blake thought, instantly grabbing a seat beside Brittany. Brittany humphed, not impressed and turned her attention to Professor Aspen. Courtney smirked, glad that Blake hadn't chosen to sit next to her, as neither her nor her sister liked Blake's' persona.

"So Brittany, do you know which Pokemon you're going to pick?" Blake said, attempting to make conversation with her.

"Naturally I'm going to pick Dolphun, who else would you think? And before you ask, my sister is going to pick Ignox so you're stuck with the grass one, whatever it is," Brittany replied harshly, flipping her hair at Blake while she gave occasion glances at the door.

"Well, since it seems each of you has already decided which Pokemon one so I'll just give them to you," Professor Aspen said, trying to keep the peace in his lab. He hated fights, especially the ones that this particular group had when the final member was present.

Prof. Aspen handed a blue pokeball to Brittany, the red one to Courtney, and the green one to Blake. He then gave a corresponding Pokedex and PokeNav to each new trainer.

"Each of you should know how each of these devices operates so I'm not going to bother explaining them to you. Your extra starting materials are on the table here, marked by the Pokemon you selected," Professor Aspen explained, indicated to the table that previously held the pokeballs on it.

Blake wasn't paying much attention and began trying to talk to Brittany again. "Hey, what's your PokeNav ID? Mine's 07353R-" Blake started, cut off by Courtney suddenly questioning the Professor.

"Professor, do you know if Za-" Courtney started, only to hear the front door bang open, a rather tall guy standing in the doorway.

He stood at 6'3" in height with black hair that he keeps spiked towards the back of his head. His dark crimson eyes, coloured by special contacts even though he can see fine, flicker around the lab, taking in as much as possible. A dark red stud to cover the damage from a Bagon bite pierces his right ear lobe. He is wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a Dragold, the cyborg dragon Pokemon, on the front in flames. His cargo shorts are held up by a chain running through the belt loops with some spare chains hanging loose. His black size eleven running shoes with red laces look to be newly acquired. The other noticeable devices on Zack are his spiked wristband and the golden/dark red pokeball on a chain around his neck.

The boy looked towards the Professor while both girls batted their eyelashes at him. "So Professor, am I too late?" was all the boy said.

"Not at all, you're actually earlier than I expected…Zack Ketchum."

Blake sneered at Zack, hating the way that the twins fawned over him. What was it that Zack did to deserve so much attention? Maintaining his cool, Blake tried to unsettle Zack.

"Oh gee, what a shame Zack, it seems that there are no more Pokemon to be given away to new trainers today. Looks like you have to wait until next month," Blake said, spinning his green pokeball in his hand.

Zack stepped inside the lab and stood in the middle of the floor. Then he detached a pokeball from one of the chains on his belt and held it out. "What do I need of one of your starters when I have one from my father right here?" was all Bane said in return.

Blake looked like he had the wind knocked out of him. Whenever Blake tried to take Zack down, whether with wit or game, he always got pushed further down the hole. Blake once tried to drop water balloons on Zack while in the cafeteria at school, only for the balloons to somehow hit the school bully instead. Blake felt the after effects of that for a week.

Professor Aspen disappeared into his office for a moment, emerging after Blake and Zack's spat with a rectangular box, which he presented to Zack. "This is from your father as well, although I have no idea what it could be. He just posted a message on the corner to open it on your own and use it carefully," Professor Aspen said as Zack walked over and took the package and read the note for himself. Zack nodded, tucking the package into his bag.

"Zack, what Pokemon did your dad send you? Is it a dragon, like you're always talking about?" Courtney queried

"Yah, show us Zacky, you know you want to," piped up Brittany.

Blake scowled at Zack, and then blurted out, "How about a battle 'Zacky'?" The instant the words left Blake's' mouth, he regretted it.

Zack turned to face Blake and stared at him for a moment. After what felt like eons, Zack spoke. "Your on, Flake."


	3. First Rival, First Battle

Yeah, I know, I don't own Pokemon, but let's face it, if I did, I wouldn't be typing this. All created Pokemon and characters are mine and can not be copied or used without my permission.

Enjoy.

**Drakor Region:**

Chapter 2:

First Rival, First Battle.

I'm never gonna stop,  
I'm never gonna drop,  
Ain't no different than it was before.

So take some good advice,  
You better stop and think twice,  
Before you take your first step,  
Out that door.

If you wanna step up (step up),  
You're gonna get knocked down (knocked down).  
If you wanna step up (step up),  
You're gonna get knocked down.

You had your chance to walk away.  
Live to see another day.

Excerpt from "Step Up" by Drowning Pool

**Zack's Perspective**

"You're on, Flake."

Those three words were the reason that Blake and I were now in one of Professor Aspen's back fields, standing about thirty feet apart. Professor Aspen has agreed to officiate the battle, as long as it took place outside; Blake had wanted to start the battle right in the lab originally. Prof. Aspen stood in between Blake and I close the fence, with Brittany and Courtney on the opposite of him.

"This will be a one-on-one Pokemon Battle. The winner will be determined by knock out or by his opponent returning his Pokemon early. When both of you are ready…" Professor Aspen trailed off, waiting for Blake or I to send out our Pokemon, but the twins had a stipulation of their own to add before we had the chance.

"The winner of this battle will travel with us through the Ingret Forest to Randim City," Brittany began, looking at me. I blinked back, not giving any sign of interest.

"While the loser," Courtney continued, glaring at Blake, "must travel on their own to Randim City."

"May the best man win," both Courtney and Brittany said together.

I just rolled my eyes at this, not really caring about traveling with the twins. Sure they were nice and everything, but they were way to prissy; they'd probably freak out if we encountered mud in the forest.

Blake, on the other hand, looked like he had been given the opportunity of a lifetime…then again, he always did fawn over the twins. He has always tried to get the publicity I have, and I can't blame him.

With my father a Champion Pokemon Master and my mother, formerly Misty Waterflower, now Misty Ketchum, a Gym Leader, I was well know and respected, not that I enjoy it. I prefer to earn others respect, not expect because of what my parents have done. I've been doing things my own way since my two older brothers and triplet sister left on their own journey five years ago, living in the house our parents left for us, keeping up in school (I hate sciences…), and learning about Pokemon.

I lost contact with my older brothers about three years ago, my sister two, and I haven't seen my parents since I was around seven years old. That's my reason for my journey, to find the answers about my family's past and where they are now.

But along the way of course, there's some Gym's to conquer.

When I looked up from my thoughts, it appeared Blake had gotten over the twins "deal", so to speak and had released his Gerare, the grass starter in Drakor. Blake had some how knocked off his glasses in the process, the dork.

Gerare is a small fly tap-like Pokemon about two and a half feet tall, similar in appearance to the Fly Trap Pokemon from Sinnoh, except the Gerare is potted. The pot is gray, but there are small crack points where it looks like the roots are trying to break through. Halfway up the stem, two vines twist out from the body with three leaves at the end of each "arm". The most striking aspect of Gerare is that it has no eyes. Instead there are two antennae that located at each mouth joint. The antennae seem to work like eyes, but the ends of them are just black balls.

Blake quickly grabbed his glasses, placing them back on his nose, and then pointed at me. "Come on now hot shot, try and beat my Gerare," he called out to me.

I detached my only pokeball from one of the hanging chains, enlarged it, and tossed it into the field. I didn't call out what it was as I wanted every element of surprise. As my Pokemon emerged, the pokeball snapped back into my hand, where I shrunk it down and reattached it to its chain.

When my Pokemon took shape, everybody was staring at him like he was some sort of legend.

Then again, Larvitars are impossible to catch in Drakor.

"Yes, I know, Larvitar are impossible to catch in the wilds of Drakor. But because Tyranitar is my favourite, my parent's sent me a special Larvitar, this Larvitar, just a few days ago as opposed to me picking a starter. He's a bit temperamental, but he's stats are above average. You'll soon find out why I say that," I gloated a little bit. I was proud of my Larvitar, and he truly is special.

According to my Pokedex scanning of him, he knows the basic starting moves as well as some egg moves my parent had Brock breed into him: Dragon Dance, Ancientpower, Outrage, Iron Head, Repeat, and Iron Defense. That, along with the basic Bite and Leer, I would be alright until some of the harder Gyms.

The twins both looked like they were fighting the urge to rush over and adore my Larvitar. I never have picked up why they have come to like the things I like…oh well. No time to be thinking about the twins, there's a battle to win.

Blake then let out a laugh that snapped me off my train of thought. What could be so funny?

"A Larvitar huh? Well, then I've got this in the bag. Since my Gerare is a Grass type, while your little Larvitar is a Rock/Ground combination, one grass attack and you're toast," Blake announced with a gusto I haven't seen out of him before. I have, however, seen him knock off his glasses doing stupid things, like know.

"Flake, it would help if your Gerare **knew** a grass move."

Blake froze, his head dropping with a gloom cloud over him. He had forgotten that Gerare don't learn a grass move until level 8. He stood there for a moment, then he started digging through his backpack.

"Are we going to battle or what Flake? I haven't got all day," I called over to my rival. Larvitar had decided to lie down and looked like he was sleeping.

Blake emerged from his bag with a disc in his hand. Before I or Prof. Aspen could say a word, Blake set the disc on Gerare. Gerare began to glow a dark green colour and I turned away, not liking the sudden bright light. I turned back around to see that my Larvitar had opened an eye and Blake once again had a triumphant smile on his face.

"Now we can start…Gerare, use your new Bullet Seed!" Blake called out.

I shook my head, dumbfounded that Blake would use a TM so soon in his journey and then use it first thing in battle. He has no concept of surprise or strategy at all.

"If you think one new move will take us down, you're dead! Larvitar, take your time and hit him with an Iron Head," I called out.

Larvitar nodded, than took off, Bullet Seeds bouncing off the ground just behind him. If he hadn't used those Dragon Dances earlier, he would have been done in early. Then again, Gerare probably wasn't used to his new attack and wasn't using it to his advantage. Larvitar suddenly stopped, getting a glancing hit from a seed, then hurled himself at Gerare. Gerare froze, unsure how to react to this kind of attack, and got hit square in the "head" by my Larvitar's Iron Head attack. Larvitar landed in front of him and held his head, the impact dazing him for a minute.

Gerare stood there for a moment, and then fell backwards, knocked out. Blake was shocked to see his starter out cold so soon, as was I.

I scratched the back of my head. I forgot that Dragon Dance also boosted physical attacks and that Gerare have relatively low defense. "Whoops, looks like we over did it there Larvitar,"

Larvitar was looking at Gerare, surprised that he was knocked out already; he had wanted a better fight. Larvitar began poking Gerare until Blake returned Gerare with a snort of annoyance.

"It was because of your cheap tricks that you won, that's all," Blake said before he rushed out of the field. I thought I saw a tear in his eye, but I couldn't tell as my attention was distracted by PokeNav giving a loud ding.

I looked at it, seeing that instead of my 5000 credits, I now had 6500 credits. I had gotten 3000 credits to start with and had saved up another 2000. The other 1500 credits must have been for beating Blake. I was about to call out to Blake to return the cash to him, but he was already too far gone. I shrugged, putting my PokeNav back in its pocket.

"Well, I proclaim Zack the official winner of this battle. I'm surprised that Blake returned his Gerare, as it was probably just flinching from the impact," Prof. Aspen said, walking over to me. I nodded, agreeing with the Professor.

Larvitar tried to make his way over to me, but Brittany and Courtney bowled him over as they ran over. "Alright, looks like we get to travel with Bane to Randim City!" Brittany shouted while Courtney went back to grab Larvitar.

I looked at them confused. _I don't rememb-oh right, at the start of the battle...damn it, this'll slow me down._ I thought to myself, putting on a small smile just for show.

"Good work there Larvitar, do you need a rest?" Larvitar shook his head once he jumped out of Courtney's arms. "Alright, well, Larvitar and I are heading out for Ingret Forest, so thanks again Professor, I'll call some time."

"Certainly Zack, hope you three have bug spray with you." Professor Aspen said before heading back to his lab.

Brittany and Courtney looked at each other before saying in hushed tones. "Bug spray."

Larvitar mimicked me in smacking myself in the forehead.

Well, that clears that up. Sorry about the short battle scene but I did it for a friend.

Aerisphoenix: Hope I answered the reasonable question, about his mom. I can't reveal his reaction to his grandfather as that would ruin everything.

Xtreme Gamer: Yeah, but he doesn't really take it in, he's a bit on the dense side…on purpose.

Next chapter will feature the unveiling of the other two starters of Drakor

Chapter 3: Don't bug me.


End file.
